The Master's University women's basketball team led from start to finish in its season opener Thursday, beating Alice Lloyd 95-51 at the Patriot Classic in Williamsburg, Ky.
All 12 Lady Mustangs played, 11 of them scored, and TMU's bench outscored Alice Lloyd's 35-16. The Mustangs won the rebounding battle 59-22, including 18 offensive boards that led to 19 second-chance points. TMU also forced 21 turnovers, had 16 steals, and scored 31 points off turnovers. The Mustangs outscored the Eagles 42-12 in the paint and shot 25 of 31 (80.6%) from the free-throw line.
Allie Miller led TMU with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting. She also had six rebounds, four steals and two blocks in 20 minutes. Alli VanKooten scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and had nine rebounds and two blocks.
Chloe Auble hit a 3-pointer on TMU's first possession, and the Mustangs never trailed. Alice Lloyd got within 13-10 with 4:26 left in the first quarter, but the Lady Mustangs scored the last 14 points of the quarter. The run came almost entirely from the defense. TMU had four steals during the stretch, Abbie Mullins scored on a fast-break layup, and VanKooten finished it with a putback at 0:19. The Mustangs led 27-10 after one quarter.
Alice Lloyd won the second quarter 18-17 behind two 3-pointers from Kennedy Johnson, and TMU led 44-28 at halftime.
The Mustangs pulled away in the third quarter, shooting 8 of 14 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Alice Lloyd had cut the lead to 56-36, and then TMU went on a 10-0 run. Izabella Forker and Miller hit back-to-back 3-pointers, both assisted by Mullins, and Mullins and Miller followed with layups to make it 66-36. Ella Hoover hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in the quarter for a 71-40 lead.
TMU won the fourth quarter 24-11. The lead reached 47 points, its largest of the game, on Hoover's free throw with 4:02 left that made it 89-42.
Forker had 12 points, a game-high seven assists, six rebounds and four steals. Auble added 11 points and seven rebounds. Hoover had seven points and eight rebounds, and Audrey McKenna had seven points and three assists. Angie Martinez made both of her 3-point attempts and blocked two shots. Kylin DeVries, Charis Hughes and Mullins each scored six points.
The Lady Mustangs held Alice Lloyd to 27.1% shooting from the field (16 of 59) and 23.1% from 3-point range. The Eagles went 0 for 7 from 3 in the fourth quarter. Shelby Stewart and Johnson led Alice Lloyd with 11 points each.
TMU finishes the Patriot Classic against host University of the Cumberlands on Friday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m.
